我的故事 ~ 19. 我们是主人翁

• by: Fan Hong & Liang Fen (Eds.)

“世间人如此之多，人生轨迹总有相似之处……”

我不敢和伟人相比，但是就像孙中山、鲁迅，当时都是学医的。医术能给人看病，但是能治的人太少。虽然我的医术能医治他们的病痛，但是不能医治他们心灵的苦闷，所以就想为他们多做点事，大概就是从那个时候开始萌生了从政的念头。

我祖籍浙江杭州，出生在上海，后来去了日本。在日本，由于各方面原因感觉都不方便，父母觉得还是要去个英语国家。我从小就想做医生，80年代底，就从日本来到澳洲学医。那时候美国还是很排斥中国的，而澳洲接受留学生容易一些。但是学医还是很难，费了很多周折进了医学院。在澳洲，学医是最难的科目，尤其是对海外学生来说。刚来时，文化和环境等各方面想要融入也不那么容易。所以我就先学了个生物学，以为成绩好就让我进了医学院。其实没有那么容易。刚开始我拿了学位但是没有身份就不能在医院上班，我就在外面转，哪里请就去哪里试一下。最后墨尔本有一家医院请我这样的医生，给我做担保，我就留了下来。

当时，雇主提名留下来的时候, 就发现很多留学生来了以后，过一段时间，家人也过来，特别是老人过来以后非常难受。就是因为所谓的“三不”，“有眼不能看，有耳不能听，有嘴不能说”。经常只能数来往车辆，或者从这条街走到那条街，非常苦闷。所以我一直认为既然来到这个国家，你就必须设法融入这个社会。后来，因为我在这里时间长了，语言和其他方面都比留学生要强。所以很多人，不光是华人，包括很多西方人，都鼓励我去从政。从政的第一步就是地方政府。2002年我参选了市议员，一举就成功了。这可能是澳洲有史以来第一个大陆背景的议员。很多人问我选举难不难？我会问他：你见过敲千家门吗？有的时候你敲门，人家一看你是亚洲人，不感兴趣，还有可能是自由党的选民。你要同他们解释你的施政纲领，他们就会觉得你虽然是亚洲人但是说话跟他们一样，虽然是工党但也很有道理，他们就选你了。最重要的是争取选票。这是民主社会最重要的，本来不选你的，现在选了，这给我很大的成就感。

后来，因为我已经做了几年市议员，就游说其他8位议员，大家一致推举我，我就在2006年当选市长了，成为大陆背景的第一位华人市长。其实，我个人做医生的收入绝对比从政要高，但是为什么要做呢？真的就是要为华人做点事情。那些荣誉，我是要分享的，这是华人的骄傲，特别是澳大利亚华人的骄傲。2006年以后，我连任了3次。到了2012年我就没再竞选，因为已经10年多了，也想休整一下。

这段路程当然挺长，可以说也挺艰辛的。对于当市长和议员，人们的反应有两种，一种是觉得你总在外面吃饭，参加活动，挺荣耀的。我就半开玩笑地说，我宁肯回家陪老婆孩子吃晚饭，高高兴兴呆在家里。前两天我应邀参加一个活动，人家说你好兴致，我说这不是兴致，这是工作需要。有的人很能理解，知道从政其实挺辛苦。有人会问：做议员、市长每天都做什么？市政府你是可以兼职的，到州联邦你就得全职，不能兼职了。除了自己的工作，你还得做市政府的工作，所有的决策都得投票，市长也就是一票。有意思的是，在我当市长期间，去中国访问，人们都喜欢问，你们市长一年能批多少款项。我说我根本不能批任何款项的，我的市长就是一票。我的职责就是主持会议，其他跟普通议员都一样，但我们几个议员一块，比方说投票5对4，那么就少数服从多数，就这种方法。

很多人问从政有什么好处啊？我说好处没有，坏处多多，我要花费成倍的精力去工作。但我们是为整个全体，澳大利亚整个华人社团，不能光为钱，不能那么狭窄，很多时候你要看到将来。我一直在想，这里的澳华社区，已经入籍的华人应该有主人翁的姿态，做什么事情不要想我是普通老百姓就别管了；或者想我年纪也大了就算了吧，孩子弄好就行了。这是一种错误的姿态，我们一定要有主人翁的心态，我们不去争取，没人会把东西放在碟子上给你送来。我们不是去抢什么东西，我们就是要争取自己应有的权利。 Read more

My Story ~ 20. A Special Representative

• by: Fan Hong & Liang Fen (Eds.)

“Wherever I go, I would like to try my best to be a special representative, hoping to do what a Chinese should do in Australia in my own way.”

My hometown is Zhangjiagang, Suzhou. The legend tells the story that it was the battlefield of Mongols during the Yuan dynasty and had been prosperous for a period. After the downturn of the Yuan dynasty, many people stayed here incognito, and some of them changed their surnames to “Miao”. So the Miao are actually descendants of the Mongols, and even the Yan Zhi group of Genghis Khan. When talking about my background, I always thought I was born to do something significant, and the glorious history left by my ancestors should be cherished and respected.

I came to Australia in 1993. The reason I came here can be summarized in the phrase “Saving the country through twisted means”. In 1990, I graduated from a university in Beijing, and then I went to the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, studying for a master’s degree. At that time, applying for a family visa to Canada had some problems, and even my wife was not able to visit me. Feeling rather depressed, I angrily applied for skilled migration to Australia, although I had preferred to stay in Canada. However, my application was successful. My family also successfully applied for the migration in 1993. So it was these circumstances that “accidentally” brought me to Australia—now it seems as though I have been here fo a lifetime.

In fact, I was not familiar with Australia before coming here, all I knew about it was the famous Sydney Opera House. I came here simply because Canada failed me and I really felt banished from Canada. Even worse, my first impression of Australia was not very amiable and nice.

Under the skilled migration scheme, you can come here and become a permanent resident, but you need to indicate your future plans. For me, more study was the first choice. I had got my master’s degree in Canada and I certainly did not want to stop my studies. Luckily, at Macquarie University in Sydney, I met a former school mate from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. She had already graduated and was the vice director of the Marine Academy of the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). She said that she was doing a research project, a joint venture between the Macquarie University and CSIRO. The project provided a generous scholarship and she asked me to join her. I thought it was a professional project and because I had both the help of my former school mate and financial support, why not to have a try? So, I quickly agreed and began to do my doctorate at Macquarie University. Read more

我的故事 ~ 20. 特殊代表

• by: Fan Hong & Liang Fen (Eds.)

“无论走到哪里，我都愿做一个特殊的代表，也努力做好一个特殊的代表，希望能以我自己的方式，来做一个中国人在澳洲该做的事。”

我的老家，在苏州的张家港，传说是当年元朝时蒙古人打仗到过的地方，盛极一时。破落以后，很多人隐姓埋名留了下来，而有一支人就改姓，成了缪姓家族。所以，我们缪姓人实际是蒙古人的后代，还是成吉思汗阏氏的那一支。每当说起这个，我总觉得，自己与生俱来就该干一番大事，先辈遗下的德泽，该好好珍惜。

我是1993年来的澳大利亚。用四个字来形容我来澳洲的原因，那就是“曲线救国”。1990年我毕业于北京的一所大学，继而就去了加拿大位于温哥华的英属哥伦比亚大学攻读我的硕士学位。碰巧那时，加拿大的家属探亲签证出了点问题，我妻子连去那里看我都去不了。也是机缘巧合，又加有点郁闷为之，本想留在加拿大的我一气之下申请了澳洲这里的技术移民，结果，还真申请上了，接连着1993年我们全家也都顺利地办好了移民。于是，我就“误打误撞”地和澳大利亚这片土地牵扯上了关系，现在看来，还是一辈子。

其实来之前，我对澳大利亚一点了解都没有。如果说有那么一点点了解，那就是我还知道悉尼有一个非常著名的歌剧院， 除此之外，连澳洲的东南西北有哪些个城市都不甚知晓。只是单纯地因为加拿大留不下来，才跑到了这里。说来真有一种被“发配”的感觉。所以，自然而然地，澳洲给我的第一印象，也不是那么地可亲可爱。说是技术移民，只是可以过来，成为这里的永久居民，但来了以后做什么，还是要我自己选择。对于我来说，读书这一条路立马成为了眼前最明朗的选择。既然已经在加拿大拿了我的硕士学位，我当然不想放弃。幸运的是，我在悉尼的Macquarie大学遇到了我在温哥华的英属哥伦比亚大学的师姐，她那时已经毕业，在澳大利亚联邦科学与工业研究组织（CSIRO）的海洋学院做副院长，她说她手上正好在研究一个课题，是Macquarie大学和CSIRO联合搞得，也能提供比较丰厚的奖学金。我一听，既是专业对口，还有学姐帮衬，也有资金支持，何乐而不为呢？于是，我很快同意了，开始在Macquarie大学攻读我的博士学位。因为跟着师姐做课题，而师姐后来辗转把实验室搬去了堪培拉，于是，我也跟着跑去了堪培拉。在1996年快读完的时候，有一次偶然发现当地的气象局正在招聘预报员。我做得都是跟气象有关系的理论研究，便毫不犹豫地申请了，也成功申请上了。

从1996年底到现在，差不多有十六七年的时间，我就一直待在气象局里。从申请成功到培训上岗，再到主持预报，我在堪培拉气象台做了整整五年。因为主持天气预报，要上电视，上广播节目，说起来我也成了当地的一个小有名气的人。更重要的是，我算是目前为止我们中国人里头在这气象局唯一做过预报员的。别看预报员小小一职，看似平凡，其实是要担负很多压力的。澳洲的气象局和中国的气象局不同，除了负责播报日常的针对于普通群众的天气状况之外，航空、国防等其他很多方面也在管辖之内，可谓责任重大。在这五年里，我经历了很多重大的天气事件，雹暴，大雾，冰灾，甚至也给澳洲总理导航过，当然这其中也免不了有过很多错误的预测，大大小小，起起伏伏，直到现在做到澳洲国家气象局的项目主管，一路走来，这里面的艰辛，也只有我自己知道。 Read more

My Story ~ 21. Reborn ~ New Family, New Vision And New Career

• by: Fan Hong & Liang Fen (Eds.)

“Attitude and environment are like a double-edged sword, it can kill a person but it can also create a new life. I thank myself for the firmness and persistence in those early years…”

I was born in Anhui Province and graduated from university in China. I taught at the university after completing my master’s degree. My husband came to Australia for further study. To be with my husband, I came to Australia in November 1995.

It seemed to me like a fairy tale when I first arrived here: everything was so short and small; there were only a few high-rise buildings in the city area, the traffic light pillars were made from short wooden piles, which looked so cute and interesting. Australia has a beautiful environment, clean air and bright sunshine – that was my first impression of Australia.

Later on things became more difficult. The first problem was the language. My major back home was Russian; I had no English foundation at all, so it was difficult for me even to go shopping. I did not watch TV at home because I couldn’t understand anything, let alone chat with my neighbors. After a while, I decided to learn English, not only for the basic life needs, but also to lay a foundation for future work. So I began an English course in 1996, it was the beginning of a new life.

The second problem was work; it was very difficult for me to find a job at first. No jobs were suitable for me to do due to my limited skills and language ability. I needed work for an income; I have done all sorts of work. I worked in Chinese restaurants as a waitress, washing dishes from noon till nine o’clock in the evening, 7 days a week, there were times when I stood at the sink washing so many dishes, and I felt just like a robot. It was not easy for me as I had never done that type of work before; I was very slow at the beginning. What’s worse, I often broke dishes while washing them, and I had to pay for them by a deduction from my already very low wages. In the end, I had very little money left to take home.

My boss got to know that I was living a very hard life with a family to raise, he was kind to me and didn’t make me pay for the first few bowls that I broke. However, I kept on breaking dishes while washing them and my boss lost his patience and temper. Once he even shouted at me angrily: “You are so stupid, you don’t even know how to wash dishes! Go home if you can’t do simple work like this!” I was embarrassed, feeling tired and sad, tears running down my face. I dried my tears with the greasy sleeves and continued washing the endless dishes. Soon I improved a lot, both in quantity and quality. I could continue washing dishes for seven hours and didn’t break any dishes for weeks. I have worked in numerous restaurants, Italian or Chinese, nearly every restaurant in Chinatown. I also worked as a household cleaner, even if I didn’t know how to keep my own house tidy and clean. I survived those hard days with my firmness and persistence. Read more

我的故事 ~ 21. 脱胎换骨—新家庭、新视野与新事业

• by: Fan Hong & Liang Fen (Eds.）

“心态和环境就像一把双刃剑，能磨灭人，同时亦能造就一个人！我感激当年坚定和不懈努力的我……”

我出生于安徽，在国内读的大学。研究生毕业后，教过一段时间的书，因为老公在澳洲，为了一家人团聚，我在1995年11月份来到了澳洲。

刚来的时候觉得这里像一个童话世界：什么东西都矮矮的、小小的，高楼大厦也不多，连红绿灯柱子都是矮矮的木头，很有意思。觉得澳大利亚是一个环境优美、空气清新、阳光灿烂的地方，这就是我初来乍到的印象。

艰辛的事情后面才慢慢开始。首先是语言问题，刚刚来澳洲的时候因为自己的专业是俄文，所以一点英文基础都没有。逛街、买东西都不方便，就算是在家看电视也看不懂，想和邻居或者是朋友聊天也无从开口,所以我就下决心要从头开始学习英语，不仅是为了基本的生活，也想为以后的工作打好基础。我1996年开始学习英语，从那一刻开始，就觉得自己需要重新创造自己的生活。其次，刚来澳洲，对工作也不了解，加上语言问题，工作很不好找。因此，我刚来的时候几乎所有的打杂的事情都做过，其中做的比较多的就是中餐馆服务生。那时，每天都要到餐馆里面去洗碗，一般从中午开始到晚上到9点多结束，一直都在机械化地洗碗。刚开始的时候很费力，一个小时洗不了多少碗，还经常把碗摔碎，工资本来就不多，再扣除摔碎碗的费用，能留在手里面的钱所剩无几了。当初老板看我不容易，不懂语言，为了家庭辛苦的赚钱，摔碎的碗不让我赔，但是后来我又一次摔了一摞碗，那次起老板脸色就不太好看了，骂了我一句：“怎么这么笨啊，不会干活就回家！”当时的我本来就感觉很累，再加上老板的这句话，心里很不是滋味，想到我来到澳洲真是不容易。这时眼泪也悄无声息地顺着眼角默默地流了下来。因害怕被人看到后笑话，赶紧用沾满油渍的衣袖擦干眼泪。到后来我洗碗的质量和数量提高了不少，譬如说在洋人餐馆里面，就在现在唐人街的意大利餐馆，我差不多一次可以连续洗七个小时不停。老公看着我每天回家都是疲惫不堪，他心疼我，虽然他还在上学，他要求自己去洗碗，让我在家休息学习英语。为了保证这个家的经济来源，再辛苦他都不说，都是自己忍着。每次说到这一点，我都是很感动的。此外，我也做过家庭清洁工。但是时间不长，主要是因为我不太会做澳洲这边的家务，因为我们不是经过专业培训的。在以后的学习与工作中，我才意识到：在澳洲几乎所有工作，一定要经过专业的训练才能够做好。经过培训的人员，做工作是比当时的我专业许多。现在回想起来，确实感觉那时的我很不容易。

起初来澳洲为了和丈夫团聚，但是没有多久就和前夫分居了。一是情感基础本身就不是太好，二是两个人的性格都有一些问题，这个算是人生的经验，不是说有意的失败，而是从失败的婚姻中总结出很多，这样你会很珍惜第二次婚姻。现任丈夫他是伊拉克人，以前是在部队，做过指挥官的警卫员，后来又成为铁道兵。在伊拉克革命运动中，他幸运地活了下来。穿过边境去了沙特阿拉伯，搜身后把他当成难民抓了起来，在沙特的难民营里呆了五年。在那一段时间，他读了很多书，读书的范围也很广，所以现在很多跟他聊天的人都会发现他看的书很多，也很有思想。他从沙特来到澳洲，属于政治难民。后来1996年，我们在读语言的时相识。他的口语比我的好，因为他到这里来的时候是一张白纸，一切重新开始。而我年龄比他大，有一些其他的语言障碍，所以我学起来比他困难。说和听都比他差，阅读和写作会比他强一些，直到现在他的语言表达能力都比我好。他的知识体系和我的也不太一样，接触的知识和我有所不同，这和他在难民营里自学看书有很大关系。在难民营里很多人是高级知识分子和艺术家，别人都把书给他看，这样子对他来说其实是受益最大的。到现在为止，他都喜欢和习惯学习。爱好读书的习惯不仅对他自己有利，同时对我们孩子的成长也有很大的帮助。我们是2005年才结婚的，因为房子的问题，他要把我的名字加上去，所以我们结婚了。结婚与否其实对我们来说都无所谓。我认为不结婚可能关系会更好一些，因为一般人没结婚的话，随时随地大家可以说再见，也不用承担任何责任。谈及我现在的丈夫，我突然想起在澳洲几十年来，有一件使我终身受益匪浅的事情，这也是我人生重要的转折点。他在其中起了关键的作用。为什么呢？我们俩刚开始在一起生活的时候，生活上面是比较拮据的。那时，我刚刚在政府提供的移民英语学习中心学习完英语，接着去了Curtin大学进一步学习英文。在英语学习完毕之后，读了一年的政治，叫做“澳洲政府”，这也是为什么我现在对澳洲政治很感兴趣。这时候摆在我面前有两个选择：一是学法律专业，二是学做秘书。当时学法律，需要整整三年，而且是全日制的；但是学秘书职业的话，差不多六个月就可以找工作赚钱，减轻家里经济负担。其实，一开始我就喜欢法律，也认为自己能够学以致用，但是，我担心丈夫会劝我选一个能快速毕业的专业好找工作来养家。所以，当时的我是抱着忐忑不安的心去征求他的意见的，我一见他就开口说道：“老公，现在面临选择职业技能学习了，你觉得我是读很快能够学习完毕马上就能赚钱的专业呢，还是读我一直很喜欢的法律？”他跟我说道：“如果你喜欢法律专业，同时也下定决心的话，你应该去读法律，千万不要考虑眼前家庭情况，有我在，家就在。你好好读书，我会支持你的。毕竟法律专业可能对你将来的发展会更好，对你的未来也更好。”因此，就因为他这一句鼓励和充满爱意的话，我坚定了信心去学法律。在读法律专业的时候。教授讲的我有些听不懂，很深很难。结果第一学期坚持下来了，五门课都通过了考试。第一学期怀孕了，第二学期放假了就开始生孩子，3个月的假期，然后生完孩子2周后又回学校。在那个时候，他作用很大，他得打工还要看孩子。所以从那以后，我生活中的所有变化和成绩，都有他一份很重要的功劳。如果当时他觉得赶紧赚钱最重要的话，我很可能也只有选择秘书职业六个月后就可以赚钱了，我们也不需要在读书期间一直靠拿西澳政府的救济金了。就我个人而言，自己当时真是坚定信心，做出了慎重的决定：从零开始学习英语，到后面排除万难选择三年法律专业进一步深造。这件事对我人生的意义非常重大，现在我之所以能够成为一名律师，不仅仅是自己的努力，更重要的是那个时期，那种生活条件下他对我莫大的鼓励和无私的奉献，这些都使我深深地感受到了他对我的那份爱和责任。 Read more

My Story ~ 22. Only By Creating Your Own World Can You Create A Real Life

• by: Fan Hong & Liang Fen (Eds.)

“While everyone who chooses to go abroad possesses his own dream, one thing is for certain – a brighter future.”

Though having lived in Perth for almost 30 years, life back in China is still clear in my head. After the opening-up policy was introduced in the 1980s, many people were desperate to go abroad to pursue their dreams, thinking that only in this way could they realize their person goal and create their own happy life. Well, I was the opposite. There were two reasons: on the one hand, my mom was quite conservative and strongly opposed this view. She didn’t want her daughter to be away. On the other hand, I majored in traditional Chinese medical science and franking speaking, I didn’t know what I could do in foreign lands.

My husband majored in science and engineering and taught in a college. People were crazy about going abroad when we fell in love. However, my mom didn’t agree with our relationship. In her mind, once the couple live separate lives, there is a big possibility that one or either of them will change. Well, the son-in-law of her friend went abroad and this young couple was quite close in the first two years. The phone calls were expensive, dozens of dollars per minute while the total salary was only 50 dollars. The husband would call his wife, but the frequency of calls gradually became less and less and finally totally disappeared. The wife had to raise their child all alone in China and it turned out to be that she had no one to divorce with as her husband was nowhere to be found. Well, she finally had to go to the court and explained that her husband was missing, finally the divorce was granted. This left a deep impression on my parents, so my mom insisted that if he must go abroad, we couldn’t get married until he returned back. As a result, we dropped this idea and got married, we no longer thought about going abroad.

After opening up, people began to focus more on schooling and qualifications. My husband was doing a good job at college and was promoted to the position of deputy director, he was considered to be an outstanding young talent. He has got a master’s degree and his major was not available at his college, it was impossible to pursue further study. He really wanted to go higher, but without a degree, everything was a daydream. It was at that time that he got an opportunity to study with a government sponsorship. In 1987, he went to University of Melbourne to be a visiting scholar for one and a half years. Later, he wrote me a letter and discussed with me about his idea of applying for a scholarship and doing PhD, this meant I would have to wait for him for another four years. During that period, he couldn’t come back and government policy then didn’t allow visiting either. It was too hard for me and I just couldn’t agree, so he came back. Read more